Degradation of lignocellulosic material

Abstract

The present invention describes a method for the treatment of lignocellulosic material which method comprises contacting said lignocellulosic material with a composition comprising two or more enzyme activities, said enzyme activities being cellulase and/or hemicellulase activities, wherein the pH during the treatment is about 4.5 or lower, and the treatment is carried out at a dry matter content of 15% or more.

1 . A method for the treatment of lignocellulosic material, which method comprises contacting said lignocellulosic material with a composition comprising two or more enzyme activities, said enzyme activities being cellulase and/or hemicellulase activities, wherein the pH during the treatment is about 4.5 or lower, and the treatment is carried out at a dry matter content of 15% or more. 
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the pH during the treatment is 4,0 or lower. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the enzyme activities is derived from  Talaromyces emersonii.    
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein two or more of the enzyme activities are derived from  Talaromyces emersonii.    
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the enzyme activities are thermostable. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the enzyme activities are capable of acting at low pH. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises one, two or all of endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase or β-glucosidase activity. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the composition comprises an endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase all of which are derived from  Talaromyces emersonii.    
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises endo-1,3(1,4)-β glucanase activity and endo-β-1,4-glucanase activity, both of which activities are derived from  Talaromyces emersonii.    
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the composition comprises one or more xylanase activities. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises an expansin, an expansin-like protein, a cellulose induced protein, a cellulose integrating protein, a scaffoldin or a scaffoldin-like protein, optionally derived from  Talaromyces emersonii.    
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the treatment comprises the degradation, optionally hydrolysis, and/or modification of cellulose and/or hemicellulose. 
     
     
         13 . A method for producing a sugar or sugars from lignocellulosic material which method comprises contacting said lignocellulosic material with the composition as defined in  claim 1 . 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the sugars are monomeric and/or multimeric sugars. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 1  herein at least one of the sugars produced is a fermentable sugar. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the sugars produced is glucose, cellobiose, xylose, arabinose, galactose, galacturonic acid, glucuronic acid, mannose, rhamnose, sucrose or fructose, 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lignocellulosic material is subjected to a pretreatment prior to being contacted with the composition. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the pretreatment comprises exposing the lignocellulosic material to an acid, a base, a solvent, heat, a peroxide, ozone, mechanical shredding, grinding, milling or rapid depressurization, or a combination of any two or more thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lignocellulosic material is orchard primings, chaparral, mill waste, urban wood waste, municipal waste, logging waste, forest thinnings, short-rotation woody crops, industrial waste, wheat straw, oat straw, rice straw, barley straw, rye straw, flax straw, soy hulls, rice hulls, rice straw, corn gluten feed, oat hulls, sugar cane, corn stover, corn stalks, corn cobs, corn husks, switch grass, miscanthus, sweet sorghum, canola stems, soybean stems, prairie grass, gamagrass, foxtail; sugar beet pulp, citrus fruit pulp, seed hulls, cellulosic animal wastes, lawn clippings, cotton, seaweed, trees, softwood, hardwood, poplar, pine, shrubs, grasses, wheat, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse, corn, corn husks, corn hobs, corn kernel, fiber from kernels, products and by-products from wet or dry milling of grains, municipal solid waste, waste paper, yard waste, herbaceous material, agricultural residues, forestry residues, municipal solid waste, waste paper, pulp, paper mill residues, branches, bushes, canes, corn, corn husks, an energy crop, forest, a fruit, a flower, a grain, a grass, a herbaceous crop, a leaf, bark, a needle, a log, a root, a sapling, a shrub, switch grass, a tree, a vegetable, fruit peel, a vine, sugar beet pulp, wheat midlings, oat hulls, hard or soft wood, organic waste material generated from an agricultural process, forestry wood waste, or a combination of any two or more thereof. 
     
     
         20 . A method for producing a fermentation product, which method comprises:
 producing a fermentable sugar using the method according to  claim 1 ; and   fermenting the resulting fermentable sugar, thereby to produce a fermentation product.   
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein the fermentation product is ethanol, butanol, lactic acid, a plastic, an organic acid, a solvent, an animal feed supplement, a pharmaceutical, a vitamin, an amino acid, an enzyme or a chemical feedstock, 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein no acid or base is added in the process.